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#1 2006-10-17 10:38:58
- takochan
- Member
- Registered: 2005-12-03
- Posts: 195
Forum Rules -- do we need them?
In another thread, The Elfman wrote:
I had never noticed that there were no rules section for this forum. I agree . . . that for most of us such rules are superfluous as we use our discretion and common sense. However below is a link to the rules section of our sister site IFM. I might be useful for some to note the section on "appreciation":
My argument for this is as follows (sorry it's a bit long):
Most of the time things can go along smoothly and enjoyably without any need to have any recourse to forum rules. However, having seen a number of unpleasant or potentially unpleasant situations on other sites and lists where having and applying a set of rules was the only possible solution in order to keep things harmonious and pleasant, I think we need to have some here.
There seems to be a growing number of people joining this and other sites and then, in their very first forum post, delivering themselves of something that is highly negative (very often at the expense of a model/artist/contributor whichever is the appropriate term depending on which site whose video they for some reason didn't like).
It never seems to occur to these people that they should consider anyone else's feelings, or that it's a good idea for newcomers to any kind of community to spend some time listening, reading, observing, getting a feel for how that community ticks, how people generally behave, etc; no, they straightaway start throwing their verbal weight around, usually quite offensively, abrasively and insensitively, as if nothing is so sacred as their freedom to be as obnoxious as they please wherever and whenever they like, or as if the norms of civilized behaviour (assuming they've heard of such) somehow don't apply to them. Or maybe they think "well, this is a porn site, so I don't need to bother about wussy stuff like manners like, who's gonna give a shit on a site like this..."
(Spelling suggests that at least some of them hail from the Land of the First Amendment; however, I wouldn't want to suggest that the kind of behaviour described above is the monopoly of any one nationality.)
Be that as it may, this phenomenon seems to be something of a growing tend at the moment. Perhaps it's an inevitable consequence of the spreading reputation
for excellent erotica that BA and some other sites have earned: more people join, and a certain proportion of that growing number really don't know how to behave properly.
Some offenders it may be possible to educate; some may be beyond education and may have to be ejected in the interests of keeping the site enjoyable for the civilised majority. But for either of those things to be possible, there first has to be a set of established guidelines showing what behaviour is expected and what is unacceptable; secondly, those guidelines must when necessary be enforced and seen to be enforced. Otherwise, whenever moderators try to do something about a site member whose behaviour is causing a problem, they run the risk of being accused of acting arbitrarily, oppressively etc etc., when all they are trying to do is to protect the enjoyment of the majority of members.
Elfman has taken a constructive first step in providing a link to the IFM forum rules, but I suggest what is needed as a further step is to adopt those rules or institute a set of similar ones here, and make sure they are posted in a prominent place (as they are in, for example, IFM and AW).
The rules don't need to be elaborate and shouldn't read like a penal code. Just some basic do's and don't's, expressed in a relaxed and friendly but firm and clear style, should be enough -- as in the example of IFM.
FWIW
takochan
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